A Sermon on the Virtue of Good Character

The Shaykh : ...and this is what is explicitly stated in that authentic narration, which is in the book al-Adab al-Mufrad by Imam al-Bukhari The point is that you see with me that this hadith encompasses all the causes of good. A believer does not have complete faith unless he imprints on his soul the love for all his Muslim brothers of the same good that he loves for himself. If we place this noble Prophetic guidance before our eyes, then that is one of the strongest causes for our souls to be rectified, our morals to become pure, and our deeds to complement one another in the light of this sincere love and affection for the face of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). The foundation of complete faith, as it appears from this hadith and that one, is good character. Because the Muslim, as I said earlier, commits to treating his Muslim brothers with the good he loves for himself. Undoubtedly, he will be at a very high level of good character. Good character gathers the good of this world and the Hereafter, as came in the authentic hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: He may be falling short in his worship of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and his voluntary acts in some of the acts of obedience, either due to circumstances surrounding him, or laziness that overtakes him in his soul, or for other reasons among the many reasons. But in his dealings with his Muslim brothers, he has good character, so it is as if he stood in prayer at night and fasted during the day, merely for his kindness to His creation. And this necessitates that he treats his brothers well. Similarly, there came a very wonderful hadith from his saying (peace and blessings be upon him), which is: And thus, for the Muslim to be in accordance with the guidance of these authentic hadiths, he must monitor himself in his dealings with his brothers in all aspects of life. And this naturally necessitates that he not say a word about his brother that, if it reached him, would sadden him and wrong him. You all know the prohibition of backbiting, the prohibition of talebearing, the prohibition of disturbing the Muslim and harming him, and the like. But the unfortunate reality is that many Muslims, even from us Salafis, whom Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has granted a portion of correct jurisprudence that was absent from many or most Muslims, but unfortunately they have forgotten the other part of what they were supposed to do, which is good dealing with one another. The Muslim with the Muslim. Therefore, I do not need to remind you of the prohibition of backbiting, talebearing, and attempting to wrong people, because all these things are known to you. But I remind you, and the reminder benefits the believers, of the obligation to practically observe these legal rulings and not to deviate from them in our character, so that we may deserve those high ranks and stations that our Prophet (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) indicated, such as his saying in the last hadith: This is what I have been written to remind you of, and perhaps in that is a good reminder, and the reminder benefits the believers by the permission of our Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He). And after this reminder, there is no objection, of course, to hearing from our brothers present if they have any observations or questions or inquiries...
Abu Layla : Distribute the papers to some of them.

The questioner : Are the questions on the same topic?

The Shaykh : That is preferable. If found, then good; otherwise, the more important thing is...

The questioner : The sun, O Abu Anas. Neighbor, Abu Anas, get up from the sun. What Allah willed, and at this time also, here.